ABSTRACT
When Beck described his work at the University of Pennsylvania, he would invariably refer to the work of himself `and our group'. At ®rst this phrase seemed to refer to a group of talented therapists and researchers who helped him develop cognitive therapy: Jeff Young, Art Freeman, Mary Ann Layden, Steve Hollon and many others. Then, as the repute of his work grew, visitors came to Philadelphia to learn more and then proceeded to further the development in their own centres and countries: David Clark, Melanie Fennell, Adrian Wells and others. In both their own minds and in Beck's, people in the new centres often became `in his group' and they then recruited and trained more therapists and researchers, many of whom saw themselves similarly. The `group' therefore started to get quite large and would have de®ed the English football supporters' taunt to opposing fans, `You're going
`Army
have and parts of the therapy ®eld. As we review Beck's contributions, we will see the following pattern again and again: Beck develops a template idea, and it is taken further by both him and his wider group and often impacts on the wider world of therapy too. Collaboration, then, is not just a therapist quality but a way of being effective in the wider stage of the disciplines allied to psychological therapy (see Wills, 2008, Chapter 8).
